Have they found the real Ambridge?

The Archers' fictional village may well be based on Cutnall Green in
Worcestershire, say Jonathan Wynne-Jones and Michael Howie.

For 60 years, the location of Ambridge has remained a mystery to devotees of The Archers, write Jonathan Wynne-Jones and Michael Howie.

But in the biggest hint yet to the whereabouts of the fictional village, actors from the BBC Radio 4 series have been sent to make a show in a real village – Cutnall Green, in Worcestershire.

Surrounded by a rich agricultural landscape, it has been chosen after a long, painstaking search for the closest match to the Borsetshire community.

Listeners to next week’s Gardeners’ Question Time will hear characters from The Archers asking for horticultural advice in a special episode, billed as coming from Ambridge.

In fact, it was recorded at Cutnall Green Memorial Hall. It is not the only thing the village has in common with Ambridge. The layout is strikingly similar, with the village shop, home to the post office, just off the main road.

Related Articles

Just as in The Archers, the shop is near the pub, The Chequers, which represents the equivalent of The Bull, where Ambridge locals head for a drink.

Then there are the cricket teams and acres of farmland, other features key of The Archers. Most importantly, even the accent is the same as those of the actors in the show.

Although the BBC has kept the location of any previous recording a secret, Ambridge is often hinted at as being near Birmingham and inspired by villages in Worcestershire, where its creator, Godfrey Baseley, came from.

Not only is Cutnall Green in the right area, but, as in The Archers, it is small, quiet and deep in the heart of the countryside.

A BBC insider said that particular attention was given to the noises outside the memorial hall, where the episode of Gardeners’ Question Time was recorded, to ensure it sounded like Ambridge. “A lot of work went into being careful not to have anything in the background that would sound out of place,” he said.

“From the wrong bird song to the noise of the road, fans of the show are so passionate about it that they will notice the smallest mistake.”

In tomorrow’s episode, panellists from Radio 4’s gardening show are heard preparing for the recording in Ambridge, which will be broadcast next week.

After one edition of Gardeners’ Question Time had been recorded, Eric Robson, chair of the panel read out the names of Archers characters who took their seats in the front row.

“A few people didn’t get it, but there was quite a ripple and a lot of laughter when their names were announced,” said Jane Bache, the hall’s bookings secretary.

Questioners include Bert Fry, who asks for tips on judging flower shows because he’s had “problems in the past”; and Peggy Archer, who wants to know how to brighten up her garden, as her husband Phil, who died last year, was the green-fingered one.

Other characters at the recording included Usha Franks, the Asian solicitor, and Brian Aldridge.

Residents said living in Cutnall Green bore more than a passing resemblance to life in Ambridge. Cynthia Page, 45, who works in the village shop, said: “There are plenty of colourful characters here and we share a lot of the same landmarks.”

The Archers has been “farmed out” only rarely. The first Christmas service in 1951 was recorded at a church in Worcestershire, but its name was not disclosed.

A BBC spokesman inisted that Cutnall Green was not actually Ambridge but had stood in for it.